The next morning began before sunrise.
Kamui had barely finished washing his face when the old carpenter’s voice echoed through the workshop.
“You’re awake?”
“I’d like to say yes.”
“So why do you still look asleep?”
Kamui yawned as he stepped into the yard.
“I’m trying to convince my body that mornings are a good idea.”
“They’re not.”
“That’s reassuring.”
The old carpenter tossed him a bundle of rope.
“Enough talking.
We’ve got work.”
By the time the sun stood high above Konoha, Kamui’s shirt was soaked with sweat.
The last stack of lumber disappeared into storage, and the old carpenter counted a handful of coins into his palm.
“Good work.”
Kamui looked at the money.
It wasn’t much.
But it was honest.
His first earnings in this world.
He closed his hand around the coins and smiled.
“Thank you.”
The old man grunted.
“Don’t spend it all on ramen.”
Kamui laughed.
“No promises.”
The market was livelier than it had been yesterday.
Fresh vegetables lined the stalls, children ran between shoppers, and merchants called out today’s prices with practiced voices.
Kamui slowed his pace.
He had enough money for breakfast.
The problem wasn’t today.
It was tomorrow.
And the day after that.
Everything he owned could fit inside one pocket.
If he wanted to build a life here, every coin mattered.
Still…
A warm meal sounded difficult to argue with.
As he joined the short line at a food stall, a loud voice rose from farther down the street.
“I said I’ll pay you later!”
Several people turned.
Kamui looked over his shoulder.
A blond boy stood in front of a fruit stall, fists clenched at his sides.
“I don’t have enough today!”
The shopkeeper folded his arms.
“And whose fault is that?”
“I’ll bring the rest tomorrow!”
“You said that last time.”
A few customers quietly walked away, pretending not to notice.
The shopkeeper pointed down the street.
“Go on.”
The boy didn’t move.
His stomach growled loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.
His face immediately turned red.
“I wasn’t hungry anyway…”
The lie fooled no one.
For a second…
Kamui saw something that made his chest tighten.
Nobody looked angry.
Nobody looked cruel.
They simply looked away.
As if this had become normal.
As if a hungry child was just another part of the morning.
The boy glared at the ground before turning to leave.
He almost looked…
Embarrassed.
Kamui looked down at the coins in his hand.
Then toward the stall.
“…Excuse me.”
The vendor looked up.
“One extra rice ball.”
A minute later, Kamui walked away carrying two wrapped rice balls.
He found the blond boy sitting alone beneath a tree overlooking the street.
The boy wasn’t crying.
He wasn’t complaining.
He was simply staring at the people walking by.
Kamui walked over and sat down a short distance away.
He held out one of the rice balls.
“I accidentally bought two.”
The blond boy didn’t even look at it.
“…Liar.”
Kamui blinked.
“Hm?”
“You bought it on purpose.”
“…You caught me.”
The boy finally looked at him.
Blue eyes.
Bright.
Defiant.
Far older than a child should have been.
“I don’t need your pity.”
Kamui nodded once.
“Fair enough.”
He took a bite from his own rice ball.
“It’s pretty good.”
Silence.
Another bite.
Still silence.
Kamui shrugged.
“I guess I’ll have to eat both.”
Before he could lift the second one…
A hand shot out.
“…Give it.”
Kamui handed it over without a word.
The boy accepted it carefully.
Almost cautiously.
Like he expected someone to snatch it back.
He took one bite.
Then another.
Neither of them spoke for a while.
The only sounds were distant conversations from the market and birds singing somewhere above.
Finally…
The boy muttered,
“…Thanks.”
“So you do have manners.”
“Don’t push it.”
Kamui laughed.
“I’ll remember that.”
The boy finished the rice ball and dusted the crumbs from his hands.
“I’m Naruto.”
Kamui nodded.
“Kamui.”
Naruto frowned.
“…That’s it?”
“What?”
“You aren’t gonna ask if I’m the one who paints the Hokage Monument?”
Kamui thought for a second.
“Were you?”
Naruto scratched his cheek.
“…Maybe.”
Kamui smiled.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Naruto stared at him.
“…You’re weird.”
“So I’ve been told.”
For the first time that day…
Naruto laughed.
It wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t long.
Just a short burst before he caught himself.
Kamui noticed.
He pretended he hadn’t.
Naruto stood up.
“I gotta go.”
“All right.”
“I’m paying you back.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“I said I’m paying you back!”
Kamui raised both hands in surrender.
“Okay.”
Naruto pointed a finger at him.
“So don’t disappear.”
Kamui smiled.
“I’ll probably still be around.”
Naruto gave a small nod before running off through the crowd.
After a few steps, he stopped.
Without turning around, he shouted,
“…See you, weird guy!”
Then he disappeared between the busy streets.
Kamui watched him go.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
“…See you around, Naruto.”
He stood up, brushed the dust from his clothes, and began walking home.
Neither of them realized it.
But years later…
Neither of them would remember the rice ball.
They would only remember that, on an ordinary morning in Konoha…
Someone had sat down beside them instead of walking away.